New ‘Dredd’ Red-Band Clip: Ma-Ma Wants Judge Dredd Dead

The new red-band clip from Lionsgate’s Dredd sees scarred drug lord Madeline ‘Ma-Ma’ Madrigal (Lena Headey) declare open season on the pair of Judges skulking around her base of operations, the futuristic Peach Trees compound. It’s one of the rare quiet moments in Dredd, as anyone who caught the advanced screening at Comic-Con 2012 can testify.

Director Pete Travis keeps his foot pressed down on the gas pedal for most of the comic book film’s running time, resulting in lots of blazing shoot-outs between Judge Dredd (Karl Urban), Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) and Ma-Ma’s minions – most noteworthy of which are the 3D sequences imitating the effects of the “Slo-Mo” drug, allowing viewers to watch bloody mayhem “at a fraction of its normal speed.”

Headey as Ma-Ma doesn’t have much screen time once the fireworks get going in Dredd, but her appearances as the remorseless antagonist are among the film’s highlights. The character’s backstory as a prostitute-turned-head of the narcotic biz in Mega City One (MC1) – the “lone oasis of quasi-civilization” in a depleted Earth – is not heavily explored, beyond some expository talk and a flashback.

However, what details are included are sufficient to establish Ma-Ma as a figurative queen who literally reigns over her criminal empire from on high, in her lair atop the Peach Trees compound (think a more blood-thirsty, dangerous-looking version of Headey from Game of Thrones). The aforementioned flashback is pretty nasty too, and guaranteed to leave all the men in the audience wincing.

Lena Headey as Ma-Ma in 'Dredd'

Dredd can best be described as the sort of movie Paul Verhoeven might make today, were he armed with 3D technology and a relatively lean budget – minus the satirical jabs and social commentary that’ve earned his sci-fi films RoboCop and Starship Troopers strong cult followings over the years. Die-hard Judge Dredd fans might find that disappointing, as Verhoeven’s original RoboCop is almost a perfect adaptation of the original 2000 AD comic’s tone and style.

Nonetheless, moviegoers in the mood for some gasp-inducing kills and relentless action propelled forward by a plot that does resemble The Raid: Redemption – on the surface level only – Dredd is a film you might want to see.

Look for Dredd to open in 2D and 3D theaters around the U.S. on September 21st, 2012.